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After a string of headaches, some positive buzz appears to be brewing for China’s economy. The growing likelihood of even a limited trade deal with the United States combined with a ramp-up in Chinese stimulus are jointly making some experts more optimistic about the 2019 prospects for the world’s second-largest economy. LGT’s base forecast is for a deal by the middle of 2019, but Hofer said now is the time to get into Chinese markets. “I think it’s perfectly okay for investors to take on China

After a string of headaches, some positive buzz appears to be brewing for China’s economy.

The growing likelihood of even a limited trade deal with the United States combined with a ramp-up in Chinese stimulus are jointly making some experts more optimistic about the 2019 prospects for the world’s second-largest economy.

The escalating trade war was a dominant narrative in 2018 and has seemed to hit both countries’ economies and financial markets, with China largely seen as having taken the bigger blow.

The atmosphere, however, has changed after a 90-day truce began early in December. Negotiations in Beijing earlier this month were mutually hailed and more talks are in store. And the U.S. is reportedly even considering lifting tariffs to reach a deal. That is all helping create a positive atmosphere for some kind of agreement.

“The point is that both sides are now under a lot of pressure to get a deal done,” Stefan Hofer, chief investment strategist at LGT Bank in Hong Kong, told reporters on Tuesday, calling it “just something that has to happen.”

LGT’s base forecast is for a deal by the middle of 2019, but Hofer said now is the time to get into Chinese markets.

“I think it’s perfectly okay for investors to take on China exposure now in anticipation of that,” he said.

Political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a Thursday note it sees “increasing signs of momentum towards some type of interim deal” within this year. In its view, that’ll be driven mostly by U.S. President Donald Trump’s wish to calm markets and have a win to take into next year’s expected re-election bid.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the issue will be solved.

“The two sides have made only slight progress on the core structural issues at the heart of the trade dispute,” Eurasia Group cautioned.

Still, experts say reduced tensions and no increase in existing tariffs would mark a significant breakthrough. And that, combined with Chinese measures to support the economy point to a better outlook.

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second time in almost two years, and said on Wednesday it will close more than 800 Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores. The company’s Canadian arm, Gymboree Inc., also intends to seek bankruptcy protection, it said. Gymboree Group listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million, its court filing showed. Gymboree, including all its U.S. subsidiaries, filed

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second time in almost two years, and said on Wednesday it will close more than 800 Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores.

The San Francisco-based company said it will also sell its high-end line, Janie and Jack, as well as its intellectual property and online platform.

The company’s Canadian arm, Gymboree Inc., also intends to seek bankruptcy protection, it said.

Gymboree is the second U.S. retailer to file for bankruptcy on Wednesday. Earlier, Shopko Stores, a general merchandise store operator, filed a voluntary petition in Nebraska.

More than 20 U.S. retailers, including Sears Holdings and Toys R US, filed for bankruptcy since the start of 2017, succumbing to the onslaught of fierce e-commerce competition from companies like Amazon Inc.

Gymboree, which started making children’s clothing more than 30 years ago, operates about 540 Gymboree stores and outlets in the United States and Canada. It also has about 265 stores across the United States under the ‘Crazy 8’ brand and 139 shops under ‘Janie and Jack.’

Gymboree Group listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million, its court filing showed.

Gymboree earlier filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2017 and was one of the few brick-and-mortar retailers that managed to escape liquidation in a wave of bankruptcies that swept the sector.

The company said it signed an asset purchase deal with Special Situations Investing Group (SSIG), an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, and SSIG will serve as the so called “stalking-horse” bidder in the sale of Janie and Jack.

Gymboree has received a commitment for $30 million debtor-in-possession financing from Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Holdings Inc and SSIG.

Gymboree, including all its U.S. subsidiaries, filed the petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, it said. Its Canadian arm also intends to seek bankruptcy protection in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Volvo Group Venture Capital, a subsidiary of the Volvo Group, has invested in a company that specializes in the “high power wireless charging of electric vehicles.” The wireless charging business, called Momentum Dynamics, is based in Pennsylvania. The Volvo Group said Tuesday that wireless charging enabled vehicles to connect to the electrical power grid without needing to use wires or cables. “For Volvo Group we are strengthening our competence and knowledge of charging and electricity distrib

Volvo Group Venture Capital, a subsidiary of the Volvo Group, has invested in a company that specializes in the “high power wireless charging of electric vehicles.”

The wireless charging business, called Momentum Dynamics, is based in Pennsylvania. It is developing and commercializing “high power inductive charging for the automotive and transportation industries.”

The Volvo Group said Tuesday that wireless charging enabled vehicles to connect to the electrical power grid without needing to use wires or cables. This can be done automatically and without any supervision.

Momentum Dynamics is currently carrying out pilots in both North America and Europe. These involve fleets and vehicle manufacturers of buses, cars, trains and trucks, the Volvo Group said.

“For Volvo Group we are strengthening our competence and knowledge of charging and electricity distribution within the ecosystem around electric transportation and energy supply,” Stefan Soderling, investment director at Volvo Group Venture Capital, said in a statement.

“We see partnership, cooperation and investments as the way forward in a fast-changing environment,” Soderling added.

In 2017, there were more than 3 million electric and plug-in hybrid cars on the planet’s roads, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Electric Vehicles Outlook. This represents an increase of 54 percent compared to 2016.

Almost 580,000 electric cars were sold in China in 2017, according to the IEA, while around 280,000 were sold in the U.S.

In terms of charging infrastructure, the IEA says that, globally, there were an estimated 3 million private chargers at homes and workplaces in 2017. The number of “publicly accessible” chargers amounted to roughly 430,000.

This week’s news represents the latest foray by a major business into the electric vehicle charging sector.

In January 2018, for instance, oil major subsidiary BP Ventures invested $5 million in FreeWire Technologies, a U.S. company that specializes in mobile electric vehicle rapid charging systems. In October 2018, Volvo Cars announced it had bought a stake in FreeWire Technologies.

Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S. plummeted for a second year in a row, according to new data. The 2018 figure marks a 90 percent drop from 2016 and represents the lowest level of direct investment by China since 2011, according to the group’s data. According to the data, a whopping $13 billion worth of U.S. assets were sold by Chinese investors, much of which was purchased during a 2015-2016 investment boom. Including those divestitures, Chinese net U.S. direct investment saw an $

Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S. plummeted for a second year in a row, according to new data.

In 2018, Chinese FDI in the United States fell to just $4.8 billion — a massive decline from $29 billion in 2017 and $46 billion in 2016, according to independent researcher the Rhodium Group.

The 2018 figure marks a 90 percent drop from 2016 and represents the lowest level of direct investment by China since 2011, according to the group’s data.

The decline comes amid trade tensions between the U.S. and China and as Beijing adds pressure on Chinese companies to reduce their global holdings and reduce debt levels.

According to the data, a whopping $13 billion worth of U.S. assets were sold by Chinese investors, much of which was purchased during a 2015-2016 investment boom. Including those divestitures, Chinese net U.S. direct investment saw an $8 billion decline in 2018, according to Rhodium Group.

In fact, the group said there’s another $20 billion in divestitures that’s still pending.

In recent months, China’s biggest private companies have put assets up for sale: Anbang has put up a number of its U.S. luxury hotels for sale, HNA Group has listed billions of dollars worth of assets for sale, Fosun International is looking to sell a stake in its New York property, 28 Liberty, and Dalian Wanda Group is exploring a sale of its stake in Legendary Entertainment.

Yet as direct investment dramatically falls, venture capital funding from Chinese sources into the U.S. hit a new record high of $3.1 billion, Rhodium said.

Meanwhile, Chinese investors continue to be the top foreign buyers in terms of both units and dollar volume of U.S. residential housing, for the past six years, according to the National Association of Realtors. That comes amid sustained interest in the American market from middle-class Chinese citizens.

United’s earnings beat analyst’s expectations more than 90 percent of the time, according to Bespoke Investment Group, on average by 2.9 percent. United is forecasting continued double-digit full-year earnings and sales growth for 2019 of $14.40 to $14.70 per share on revenues of $243 billion to $245 billion. On a valuation basis, UnitedHealth shares are trading at 19.5 times estimated forward earnings, which puts it at a premium to its health insurance peers. Centene has a forward price earning

United’s earnings beat analyst’s expectations more than 90 percent of the time, according to Bespoke Investment Group, on average by 2.9 percent. The firm’s revenues top estimates about two-thirds of the time by about 1 percent on average.

Nephron analyst Josh Raskin notes that health insurers, as a group, pulled back 18 percent from the end of last earnings season through the start of the new year, 6 points more than the overall S&P 500, making potential earnings beats for the group more compelling.

“We are certainly more bullish than we were just a month ago … with the recent pullback we have not materially changed our estimates, nor targets and therefore expected returns are higher,” he wrote in a note to clients looking ahead to earnings season.

United is forecasting continued double-digit full-year earnings and sales growth for 2019 of $14.40 to $14.70 per share on revenues of $243 billion to $245 billion.

On a valuation basis, UnitedHealth shares are trading at 19.5 times estimated forward earnings, which puts it at a premium to its health insurance peers. Centene has a forward price earnings ratio of 17, Anthem trades at 16 times estimated forward earnings.

Cigna and CVS Health will be providing formal earnings guidance for 2019 when they report quarterly results in the weeks ahead, after completing their respective acquisitions in the fourth quarter.

Pepsi’s new global tag line is managing to divide the industry experts. “For the Love of It” will replace “Live For Now” in 100 countries (not including the U.S.). But agencies that CNBC reached out to weren’t totally convinced about the new line. But, she added, it will help to distance Pepsi from its 2017 ad starring Kendall Jenner that was pulled after a huge backlash. That ad used “Live For Now.”

Pepsi’s new global tag line is managing to divide the industry experts.

“For the Love of It” will replace “Live For Now” in 100 countries (not including the U.S.).

The soda brand launched a series of videos this week focusing on the drink’s bubbles, taste and refreshment and is working with Now United, a pop group put together by music veteran Simon Fuller, on a new jingle.

Pepsi says the tie-up and new tagline reflect a celebration of the product, an “iconic brand rooted in entertainment with a refreshing and delicious beverage people around the world love,” according to Roberto Rios, senior vice president, Marketing, Global Beverage Group at PepsiCo, in a statement emailed to CNBC.

But agencies that CNBC reached out to weren’t totally convinced about the new line.

For Sophie Lewis, chief strategy officer at WPP-owned agency VMLY&R, it is a little too reminiscent of “I’m Lovin’ It,” the line used by McDonald’s since 2003 when Justin Timberlake was paid a reported $6 million to sing it in a commercial.

But, she added, it will help to distance Pepsi from its 2017 ad starring Kendall Jenner that was pulled after a huge backlash. That ad used “Live For Now.”

“(Fuller’s) 14-strong team of global Gen Z-ers have sold their souls to Pepsi — or, rather, purely ‘For the Love of It’ they will be making sweet, Pepsi-flavored music and film,” she said in an email to CNBC Thursday.

There’s a new European unicorn in town. German fintech firm N26 said Thursday it has raised $300 million from investors in a round of funding — valuing the online lender at $2.7 billion. That not only puts the company among the ranks of Europe’s unicorns — or private start-ups valued at more than $1 billion. N26’s latest funding exercise was led by U.S. private equity firm Insight Venture Partners with additional backing from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. Its other backers include Chine

German fintech firm N26 said Thursday it has raised $300 million from investors in a round of funding — valuing the online lender at $2.7 billion.

That not only puts the company among the ranks of Europe’s unicorns — or private start-ups valued at more than $1 billion. It also makes it one of the most valuable unicorns in the continent.

According to data compiled by CB Insights, just six other privately held European firms can claim to top N26’s market value: Global Switch, Roivant Sciences, Auto1 Group, Ottobock, The Hut Group and BGL Group.

German carmaker BMW on Tuesday said it achieved record sales of 2.49 million BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles last year. “BMW Group achieved record sales in 2018. 2.49 million vehicles mean the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium automotive company for the 15th year running,” Chief Executive Harald Krueger said. Daimler has not yet released annual sales figures for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, so it remains unclear whether BMW brand overtook Mercedes-Benz in terms of sales in 2018. Sales

Hyundai and Kia — together the world’s fifth-biggest automaker — set what they called a “conservative target” of 7.6 million vehicle sales in 2019, a 3 percent increase from the 7.399 million vehicles sold last year. The 2018 sales fell short of the group’s target of 7.55 million vehicles, marking their fourth consecutive annual sales goal miss. The duo sold 7.25 million vehicles in 2017. Morgan Stanley expects global auto production to fall 1 percent in 2019, the first drop in nine years. Hyund

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group flagged another year of tepid car sales growth on the back of a slow 2018, saying trade protectionism adds uncertainty and major markets such as the United States and China remained sluggish.

In his first New Year address to employees, group heir apparent Euisun Chung said Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors would complete a restructuring of South Korea’s second-biggest conglomerate, which is widely expected to pave the way for him to formally succeed his octogenarian father as head of the group.

The complicated succession plans come as Hyundai contends with a bunch of problems that have cost it market share in China and the United States and stalled its rise up the ranks of global automakers.

It missed a boom in sports utility vehicles (SUVs), faces potential U.S. tariffs and a U.S. investigation over how it handled a vehicle recall, and lost ground in technological advances such as self-driving cars.

“Business uncertainties are heightening as the global economy continues to falter. Walls of protectionism are being constructed around the world,” Chung, 48, told hundreds of employees at the group’s headquarters in Seoul.

“Internally, we face challenging tasks such as stabilizing business in major markets like the U.S. and China, while simultaneously enhancing our responsiveness to drive future growth.”

Hyundai and Kia — together the world’s fifth-biggest automaker — set what they called a “conservative target” of 7.6 million vehicle sales in 2019, a 3 percent increase from the 7.399 million vehicles sold last year.

The 2018 sales fell short of the group’s target of 7.55 million vehicles, marking their fourth consecutive annual sales goal miss. The duo sold 7.25 million vehicles in 2017.

Morgan Stanley expects global auto production to fall 1 percent in 2019, the first drop in nine years.

In that environment, the group said it would launch 13 new or face-lifted models in 2019, including a premium Genesis SUV and the Sonata sedan.

“Hyundai will be launching new models, but competitors will be also doing so, making it difficult for Hyundai to increase shares in the sluggish markets in China, U.S. and Europe,” said Sean Kim, an analyst at Dongbu Securities.

Hyundai shares ended down 3.8 percent and Kia slumped 2.7 percent, while the wider market was down 1.5 percent.

Chung said Hyundai would launch a pilot service of its autonomous taxis in South Korea by 2021 and expand partnerships with leading players in that area.

He also pledged to “actively communicate with” shareholders, an apparent reference to U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management which effectively scuttled a previous restructuring plan last year.

During the November rout, FAANG stocks lost a combined $1 trillion in value, with Facebook, Apple and Amazon taking the bulk of the hit. The free fall led some, like Bleakley Advisory Group’s Peter Boockvar, to declare the FAANG trade “dead.” “Each of these stocks, going forward, are going to trade on their own footing and not as a group,” Boockvar told CNBC. “If they don’t trade together again then we are going to have more volatility creep into the market,” he predicted. “I would pick somewher

During the November rout, FAANG stocks lost a combined $1 trillion in value, with Facebook, Apple and Amazon taking the bulk of the hit. The free fall led some, like Bleakley Advisory Group’s Peter Boockvar, to declare the FAANG trade “dead.”

“Each of these stocks, going forward, are going to trade on their own footing and not as a group,” Boockvar told CNBC. However, Cashin argued the group needs to emerge in leadership, pointing to the fact that there are not many other groups that can take up that mantle.

“If they don’t trade together again then we are going to have more volatility creep into the market,” he predicted.

He’s also looking for signals on the market’s direction in mid-January.

“There’s supposedly a lot of money out there,” Cashin said, noting that people are waiting to get past the first two weeks of the month to make sure there is no residual tax selling.

“I would pick somewhere around Jan. 15 and say let’s see if we get a second leg up here in the market,” he said.